BERLIN: A German third division match was abandoned on Sunday after a player from the visiting team was racially abused by a spectator.
The goalless match between hosts MSV Duisburg and VfL Osnabrueck was abandoned after half an hour by the referee due to hostility towards visiting forward Aaron Opoku.
“Opoku was racially insulted. Unbelievable. Aaron, we are behind you!!! NAZIS OUT!” tweeted VfL Osnabrueck on the club’s verified account.
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The match referee Nicolas Winter told broadcaster MagentaSport “there was a Osnabrueck corner and monkey chants came from the stands”.
Winter walked the teams off “to take care of the player” concerned because “I saw how shocked he was. I told him we were there to protect him.”
Winter said he will write a special report to the German Football Association, describing the incident as “quite dramatic in difficult times”.
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The supporter concerned was identified and removed from the ground.
The host club apologised for the racist incident, “that is a No-Go”.
Duisburg’s press spokesman Martin Haltermann said the player targeted was “extremely upset, as is the whole (Osnabrueck) team”.
“The only chance we have is to apologise,” he added.
“This is a low point in our club history.”
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Duisburg’s Twitter account confirmed the match had been abandoned because “VfL Osnabrück is no longer in a position to play. We fully understand. A bitter afternoon for football in #Duisburg!”
While the teams were off the pitch and before it was announced the match had been abandoned, the majority of home fans chanted “Nazis out!”.
The home club also played an anti-fascism song ‘Schrei nach Liebe’ (A Cry for Love) by Die Aerzte over the stadium tannoy.
